It was the birth of our first grandson that catapulted us into RVing. We needed a solution to visiting him since we lived in Florida and he was in Virginia. We wrote about it here. So fast forward two years and we’ve now welcomed our second grandson into the world! In between their births, we’ve stayed traveled between 66 campgrounds, with 49 of them being the first time we’ve camped there, and we are now at approximately 474 nights in a camper. And we are changing how we travel now that we have a motor home.

We had to do a cost benefit analysis of how we were traveling and we’ve read about other full time travelers doing the same. Bottom line, we are slowing down between campgrounds. To get the best rates, we need to stay a minimum of 7 days and the absolute best rates are for 30 day stays. We have learned the more you set up and tear down your camper, the easier it gets. We’ve now done it so much, it’s second nature. BUT, we’ve now realized we are rusty when it comes to traveling to a new location.

And this is where we are now. We made reservations through our Choice Hotels membership right before grandson #1 was born. And I got “hood-winked” so to speak. I spent $199 for a four day three night vacation in Myrtle Beach. We knew it was a nice area and had plenty of great campgrounds. So we really wanted to let our daughter and her husband stay in the hotel and we would just camp there for a mini vacation for them. And as part of the deal, we would get back a $200 Mastercard Gift card for listening to a two hour presentation. It sounded good at the time, but we never could coordinate that trip and grandson #2 came along. So the deal was about to expire and we found out there was another resort close by where we could stay, Shenandoah Crossings in Gordonsville, VA. It’s at the foothills of the Shenandoah National Park. This was where we discovered we loved to hike between 2003 and 2004. You can read about our one year of monthly hikes here. Ah sweet memories….so here we are!

We decided to leave our RV. It was just cheaper to leave it and stay in a cabin in this resort. We actually had planned to drive here in the motor home after it was time to leave our daughter and grandsons. But long story short, this deal was about to expire and we need to stay a little longer to help them out. And besides, who could leave this bundle of joy so soon?

Baby brother!

Next up, our adventures at Shenandoah Crossings, rusty as they are! But let us not forget this important scripture as we move on….

Is not wisdom found among the aged?
Does not long life bring understanding?

So Sweet!!! I’m looking forward to being a Grandma (someday)… no rush for sure, especially since my sons don’t even have girlfriends right now! But I do get excited when I think of having another baby in the family – especially one that I can spoil and send home with Mommy and Daddy 🙂